Breaking: U.S. Airstrikes Have Wounded This Terrorist Group And It Will Be Hard For Them To Recover

According to official reports Friday, an airstrike earlier this week in Somalia resulted in the death of Ahmed Abdi Godane, the leader of terrorist group al-Shabaab.

The White House released a statement affirming that the successful mission represented “a major symbolic and operational loss to the largest al-Qaida affiliate in Africa and reflects years of painstaking work by our intelligence, military and law enforcement professionals.”

As terrorist network Islamic State, or ISIS, continues to pose a threat throughout the Middle East and beyond, Barack Obama confirmed that similar strikes will be used against that group’s militant leaders.

“We have been very systematic and methodical in going after these kinds of organizations,” he said.

Reports indicate that Monday’s airstrike included laser-guided rockets and Hellfire missiles and, in addition to killing Godane, led to the destruction of terrorist infrastructure including a vehicle and a military camp. No ground troops were involved in the mission, CBS confirmed.

While citing the significance of this mission, the White House noted that challenges remain in the fight against al-Shabaab terrorists.

“Even as this is an important step forward in the fight against al-Shabaab,” the statement read, “the United States will continue to use the tools at our disposal – financial, diplomatic, intelligence and military – to address the threat that al-Shabaab and other terrorist groups pose to the United States and the American people.”